Chelsea star aiming for 400-game target

The Brazilian international moved to Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2010, having spent the previous part of his career in Portugal and his home country.

He has gone on to become of the Blues most important players, whilst his energy and efficiency have been rewarded with 51 international caps.

The 27-year-old was named Player of the Season at Stamford Bridge in 2012, topping off his most successful season to date, with 47 games bringing a return of 12 goals, including the memorable chip at the Nou Camp on the way to Champions League glory - a goal voted as the Blues best of the season.

He recently made appearance number 200 for the West London outfit, and speaking to the official Chelsea website, the Brazilian revealed that he was set for doubling his output in the future, with 400 games his ideal vision.

He said: "It doesn’t feel like it was a very long time ago that I arrived here.

"To be honest, when I came to Chelsea I had my mind set on playing as many games as I could for the club, but I didn’t expect to reach this mark so quickly.

"I have gained experience and knowledge of the game, learned to adapt my game and become more mature. Hopefully, over the next few years I will be counting games number 300 and 400 in a Chelsea shirt.’

The midfielder has played four of the Blues five Premier League games this season, and he is aware that chances will be hard to come by, with the squad holding an incredible strength in depth.

"I think the signings we have made this season are brilliant and that has helped develop the team," added Ramires.

"If you look throughout the squad, we have players who can come into the team in any position on the pitch and we will not lose the quality of the team. You can see that from the start we have made to the season.”

The Brazilian international is set to miss out this weekend, with Aston Villa heading to Stamford Bridge, but he looks set to be a mainstay of Jose Mourinho’s men for a number of years.

Billy Hawkins

Billy is a freelance writer who contributes to various sites concerning football. Known to possess an obsession with statistics, Eastern European club sides, and Victorian football, he focuses upon the untapped potential of the Football League in the belief it is more enjoyable than the Premier League.